DOC imposes tariffs on Chinese manufacturers

The U.S. Department of Commerce ruled in favor of American solar manufacturing companies, last week. As we noted earlier, a Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) requested that the U.S. Government provide protection from unfair business practices by Chinese renewable energy manufacturers. The DOC ruled in favor of the CASM on both the countervailing duties and the anti-dumping tariffs. Furthermore anti dumping rates were set at 31%. This ruling, however, has found opponents both within the American solar industry and the Chinese government. You can read one opposing view point here on Market Watch.

In the meantime, the wind industry won a favorable ruling from the DOC, imposing a duty on Chinese utility-scale wind towers of 19.87%. However, the ruling on the anti-dumping allegations is still pending. Read more in Steve Leone's article "DOC imposes tariffs on Chinese Wind Towers."

Clean Tech Industry at a Crossroads

Manish Bapna, President of the World Resource Institute, wrote a piece for Forbes about the clean tech industry and the critical crossroads it faces today. The wind and solar industries have experienced strong growth over the past decade. Both wind and solar are even close to cost competitiveness with fossil fuels in many parts of the world.  For instance, according to the McKinsey & Co industry analysis, solar PV deployment could increase 50-fold by 2020, rivaling the rate of natural gas growth. And yet, the industry is still in its infancy, and just like the fossil fuel industry before it, still depends on government engagement to reach maturity.

Yet, as renewable energy becomes a talking point in an election year, the very subsidies that helped the clean tech industry get this far are being threatened and the industry itself is feeling the effects. As Bapna puts it "these policy shifts risk stalling progress toward cost competitiveness at the 11th hour." It would be a shame for us to miss out on the potential jobs, economic growth, and sustainable energy production because of a lack of foresight and patience. Fossil fuels have benefited from a century of government subsidies, why not see what the clean tech industry can do with even just a fraction of that support?! Read all of Bapna's piece to see who is still investing and what can be done to help the clean tech industry reach maturity.  

Michigan SREC market- dead or alive?

Although Michigan does not have it's own viable SREC market, current solar energy producers can sell credits to neighboring  markets, like Ohio. But some Michigan policy makers are tired of being left out of this green growth potential. New legislation has been proposed that would require Michigan energy providers to produce a quarter of their electricity from sources such as wind and solar, an increase from its current nominal 10%.

Unfortunately, influential groups like the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, have chosen to disregard the economic benefits of a SREC market, and have officially opposed the 25% renewable energy mandate. The Chamber chose the first day of its annual three day policy conference to make its announcement of opposition. Ironically this year the focus of the conference  is to discuss how innovation can drive economic development. 

Read more about both the proponents and opposition reasons in this Detroit News article by Karen Bouffard.

Eradication Darkness

SunEdison has announced a rural electrification program called Eradication Darkness. Eradication Darkness will design, install, and manage distributed-generation solar power plants for Indian villages that have never had access to electricity.  The pilot project for this plan, the Merrwada project, installed a 14 kilowatt solar energy plant supplying electricity to 400 villagers.

The program will be implemented in phases.  The next phase will also serve to test an develop a successful business model that will facilitate rural electrification globally.  Twenty-nine villages in the Guna District have been identified for the next phase of the initiative. Financing is expected to be provided by a combination of government grants and private funds from investors and corporations. Financial and other partners are currently being sought for the next phase. Read more about SunEdison's work and project Eradication Darkness here.

Ghana to host international renewable conference

The "first international conference dedicated to off-grid renewables" to be held in October 2012 in Ghana. The event is being organized by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and the International Renewable Energy Agency. The event will be considered an official contribution to the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.

The event will focus specifically on rural electrification in developing countries, and experts including the Director General of IRENA and African Energy Ministers will be among the attendees.  Read more preliminary details in the announcement here.  More details will be released shortly y the ARE.

Farmers Embrace Renewable Energy

One in five farmers in England and Wales will be producing clean energy by this summer. One in six farmers will be using solar photovoltaic equipment on their farm, and one in eight will be using energy directly from a renewable source.

These findings and more were released by NFU and NatWest in a recent study of renewable energy use in the UK. The UK has set a goal of producing 15% of energy from renewables by 2020, and as Ian Burrow, the head of agriculture and renewable energy at NatWest said,  the study results show "how the farming industry is playing a key role in helping the UK meet its target."

The survey also found that connectivity, permitting and financing were still barriers to accessing renewable energy. These are important things to keep in mind for any country attempting to reach renewable energy targets. Demand can't do it alone, public policy will play a major factor in facilitating clean technology use.  Read Jonathan Riley's article in Farmers Weekly.

Multi-tasking Solar PV Systems

The Southern California Gas Company is currently testing a new solar photovoltaic technology that produces energy for the building but also serves as an air conditioner at the same time. Instead of using electricity, or natural gas, the air conditioning system uses hot water pumped out by the solar PV system.

The dual system was developed by Cogenra Solar and uses a combination of mirrors and a computerized tracking system to capture sunlight and focus energy onto an system of collectors.

The Cogenra system provides 10 tons of cooling, and serves as an example of how clean energy technology can be incorporated into traditional infrastructure to save money and the environment. Read more about this new technology in Nancy Rivera Brooks' article in the LA times.